


Swept Away

by Finduilas



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Actor Derek Hale, Conventions, Fan Stiles Stilinski, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:37:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1972644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Finduilas/pseuds/Finduilas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being fans of the supernatural TV-show that actor Derek Hale stars in, Stiles and his friends find themselves at <em>Werecon</em>, where they get the opportunity to actually meet the man! Things don't go entirely as expected...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swept Away

**Author's Note:**

> \- Thanks to Gea for the title! 
> 
> \- Thanks to Space for the beta!
> 
> \- So I went to Wolfsbane 2 this weekend, and this is basically the result. Especially after I ran into a door upon seeing Hoechlin smile and wave at me, so... yeah. I thought I'd turn my embarrassment into a ficlet. ;)

"Oh my God, how amazing was that panel?" Kira says, almost shrieking, as they head out of the panel room.

"I cannot believe they actually said the things about the transformations!" Scott calls out, nearly breathless out of sheer excitement.

"I know, right?" Allison says, "Talk about major spoilers!"

"No, but seriously, the thing about the shipping though!" Stiles says, because he can hardly believe the way Boyd and Erica went along with it, playing in to the fan excitement of their characters being shipped.

"Oh please, do you see the way Boyd looks at Erica? He totally ships it himself!" Lydia says, and while the rest of them are kind of flushed and hyped up about everything going on around them at this con, Lydia is still looking like she freshly stepped out of the shower, make-up and clothing perfect. Stiles really has no idea how she does it. With all the rushing around, he feels completely buzzed and sweaty and... Oh God, they're going to be in the autograph room next and _Derek_ is going to be there. Derek Hale. Star of his favorite tv-show and the most perfect human being Stiles has ever seen.

"Do you have your comics?" Allison asks Kira, who's fishing into her backpack to find the incredible fanart she has made of Isaac and Cora's characters, a short comic of them as Hawkeye and the Black Widow, something they had talked about in an interview once. Stiles is sure they are going to love it, Kira's comics being incredible - and wildly popular in fandom - but Kira is clearly nervous, almost dropping her bag while she tries to get the panels out.

Scott helps her with her bag, which seems to calm her down a bit, until her face just shows horror all of a sudden and she goes, "Oh God, what if they hate it? What if they don't even comment on it?"

"Are you kidding me?" Stiles says, "They are going to freak out! You know how Isaac always geeks out when he gets presented this stuff! Come on, Kira. They’re probably going to jump over the table trying to hug you or something!”

“Don’t even,” Kira says, fanning herself with the comic panel she finally managed to get out of her bag.

“Do you have yours?” Lydia asks Stiles, “Of Derek?” Because yes, Stiles has fanart too, albeit a completely different style from the comics Kira does.

“No, I’m gonna keep them for tomorrow,” Stiles says, “I’m way too nervous to give them to Derek already. I need to ease into it.”

He lets out a nervous laugh as Lydia just rolls her eyes at him. “Alright, so Isaac’s queue first then?”

“Yes!” Scott says, just a tad too enthusiastic.

“Someone’s crush is showing,” Allison snorts as she adjusts her skirt a little bit - she’s cosplaying as Cora’s character.

“He’s just a really good actor, is all,” Scott mumbles, looking down at the floor.

“And the fact that you have a major mancrush on him has nothing to do with it?” Stiles teases, because he _knows_ just how crazy Scott is about Isaac.

“I hate you,” Scott mutters, but he’s smiling anyway.

They reach the autograph room, showing their Werecon badges to the staff before walking in. There are rows of queues in front of various tables, the chatter of excited fans filling the room, and at each table there’s one of the actors, flanked by a personal assistant. Stiles’ eyes fall on Derek immediately. He’s looking down at the picture someone has asked him to sign, scribbling his autograph on it. He’s too far away for Stiles to hear what is being said, but the fan looks like she’s talking a million miles an hour, and Derek just smiles up at her, nodding friendly, taking an interest in what he’s being told. Stiles is being dragged into Isaac’s queue, his eyes still fixed on the table closest to the exit. Derek’s table.

“Talk about mancrush,” Allison laughs, and it’s only when the rest start laughing too that Stiles realizes he hasn’t looked away from Derek since they entered the room.

“I can’t help it,” Stiles attempts in a hushed voice, waving his hands in Derek’s direction, “Just look at that man. He’s just so…”

Perfect, is the only word Stiles can even come up with. But even that doesn’t feel like enough to describe Derek Hale.

“Gorgeous?” Lydia fills in.

“But it’s not just that!” Stiles says, his eyes glued to Derek’s face again. “Just look at that smile!”

“I _know_ ,” Kira all but whines, “How is it fair that this cast is so…”

She trails off as well, and Stiles just _gets_ her.

“This weekend is gonna kill me,” Allison sighs, and then the queue for Isaac starts moving a bit, and they all squeal in excitement.

*** 

Derek looks up at the girl in front of his table, smiling and nodding as she tells him how his character has had such a positive influence on her, how he’d gotten her through some rough times. Derek loves to hear stories like that, to learn that what he does is sometimes more than just a job, that it can somehow help people as well. He doesn’t always understand why people see him as such a role model, why people idolize him so much, but to hear how he’s been a positive influence in someone’s life… that just makes the craziness and the chaos of a con weekend worth it for him.

He thanks the girl, signs the picture she presents him with of the two of them at a previous convention - Lord, his hair was just a mess there, why did his P.A. even allow him to go on camera like that? - and adds a little personalized message, because he knows it means a lot to the fans. She thanks him about a million times, tears in her eyes, and Derek gets up from behind his table and says, “Oh sweetie, come here.” He reaches over the table to pull her into a hug - the girl now crying for real - and he can just feel the stink-eye his P.A. is giving him but he doesn’t let it bother him. ( _“You can’t do hugs at autographs, Derek. Everyone’s gonna want one, and the queues are going to be eternal.”_ ) But his line is very manageable at the moment - he knows people are probably heading towards one of the meet and greets now, or are already waiting for the next panel - and he’s still his own boss, no matter how much his P.A. Jennifer tries to protect him this weekend.

When the girl finally leaves the table - thanking him a million more times - Jennifer whispers a hushed “ _hugs_ ” at him, when she slides over an autograph book from the next fan. Derek just smiles at her sweetly, before giving his attention to the fan in front of him. She’s the last one for the moment, as it seems, and when she walks away, Derek takes a moment to lean back in his chair and look at the room. There’s still a small queue for Isaac, but Cora’s is trailing out as well, and he can see his sister munching on some sweets she probably just got from one of her fans. When she catches him looking at her, she throws over one of the packages, which Derek catches swiftly.

“For later,” he calls out to her, she’s only at the next table, and puts it on the stack of other treats he’s already received. He fishes out a small box with some chocolates, and throws it back at Cora in exchange. She digs in right away.

When he looks back up at the room, his eyes land on a small group of fans that are hovering by the door, waiting for one of the girls to put some stuff away in her bag it seems. There’s a guy in a “Studmuffin” shirt walking backwards towards the door, big soulful eyes scanning the room as if he’s trying to take it all in. His nicely curved lips are slightly parted in awe.

“You still have to let me know what you want for lunch,” Jennifer tells him, and she slides over a piece of paper with a selection of food.

“Hmmm,” Derek stares down at the paper, not entirely sure what he’s in the mood for yet.

“I just need to know before you go into the meet and greet, alright?” she asks.

“Sure,” Derek says, his fingers still resting on the paper, but his eyes are drawn up again, at the Studmuffin guy, who is still inching back, but his gaze is straight on Derek now, and Derek smiles and raises his hand to wave at him - at the entire group - and the guy’s eyes go even bigger as his mouth forms a perfect “O” and he… crashes straight into the door behind him.

“Oh!” Derek calls out, his hands coming up to cover his mouth as he watches the guy flail a bit to straighten up, his friend grabbing his arm to keep him from falling. Derek’s instinct has him half up out of his chair already, but Jennifer’s hand lands on his forearm, stopping him.

“Derek, you can’t,” Jennifer all but sighs, and he slumps back into his seat as he watches the guy’s face go completely red when he sees Derek still looking at him. The guy closes his eyes and Derek can almost _hear_ the groan all the way back there as “Studmuffin” buries his face in his hands. There’s something incredibly endearing about the way he’s shaking his head to himself, and then he rakes his fingers through his hair and looks back at Derek.

“Oh my God, _Stiles_ ,” Derek hears one of the girls call out, and his friends are all laughing now, and then the guy - _Stiles_ , apparently - takes a deep breath as he points one slender finger at Derek and calls out loud enough for him to hear, “This is _your_ fault, you know!” His face is completely flushed, red spots mixed in with a scattering of moles, and Derek can’t help but be fascinated by this guy. He actually cracks up himself now, clearly laughing through his own embarrassment, and Derek can’t help but laugh too.

The girls wave at him again, and Stiles is still shaking his head, muttering something to himself, and then they’re out of the autograph room in a flash, and Derek is still smiling at the spot they were all standing.

When he finally glances over at Jennifer, she just gives him a look but he’s saved from answering by a girl that walks up to his table with a huge smile on her face.

***

“Are you going to tweet _everything_ that happens this weekend?” Stiles asks Lydia as they’re standing in line for Derek’s photo op.

“Well d’uh!” Lydia says, not even looking up from her phone, as her fingers swipe swiftly over the screen.

“Okay, uh… do I look okay?” Stiles asks nervously, glancing over at the spot where Derek is holding yet another girl in his arms for the picture.

“Of course you do,” Lydia answers automatically, and there was a period in life where Stiles would’ve probably killed to hear her say that, but now he’s going to share a picture with Derek I-Look-Like-A-Freaking-Supermodel Hale and he needs Lydia to look up from her phone and actually look at him before answering.

“ _Lydia_ ,” Stiles hisses, all but stomping his foot on the floor.

She finally looks up at him with a put upon sigh, but she says, “There, you look adorable.”

“Okay,” Stiles says, letting out a deep breath. When he looks over at Derek again, there’s a fan just walking away from him, and he’s looking out over the queue and when his eyes fall on Stiles, Stiles could swear that the corners of Derek’s lips are tugging upwards and Stiles can just feel it all the way in the pit of his stomach.

“Oh God,” Stiles mutters, and just when he smiles back, there’s another fan appearing at Derek’s side, and Derek greets her enthusiastically before posing for the picture.

“Do I really look okay?” Stiles asks again, and he hates just how jittery and high-strung he is.

“Just don’t run into any more doors,” Lydia says, and Stiles just wants to die right then and there.

But the queue has moved up slowly but steadily, photo ops being rushed a bit, and eventually Lydia is up next and Stiles watches her take a picture with Derek as if it’s something she does every day. Stiles kinda hates Lydia for never ever losing her cool.

And then he’s up, and Derek smiles at him when Stiles approaches him and he sticks out his hand to greet him.

“Hi, I’m Derek,” he says, and Stiles wants to laugh because _yeah_ , everyone in the world probably knows who Derek is, but then Derek is grabbing his hand to shake it and warm fingers wrap around Stiles’ hand and Derek is still looking at him, smiling a broad, full-teeth smile, and Stiles is seriously impressed he manages to even get out a hesitant, “I’m Stiles.”

“Nice to meet you, Stiles,” Derek says, and he says it like he _means_ it, and Stiles is pretty sure he will never ever get over any of this. Because then Derek’s arm is swinging over Stiles’ shoulder as he directs himself towards the camera and says, “This okay?”

“Y-yeah, of course,” Stiles says, as he snakes his arm around Derek’s waist and tries to remember to smile for the camera without getting too distracted by Derek’s warm side pressed against his.

The flash goes off before he knows it, and Derek slips out of the kind of half-hug and turns towards Stiles again, and it looks like he’s going to say something when the next fan is basically being rushed towards him, and Stiles knows that his time is up.

“Thank you so much,” Stiles says, not really knowing what else to say, and then he rushes towards Lydia before he can fully comprehend Derek saying, “See you later, Stiles.”

“Wow, that was… short but sweet,” Stiles says as they’re in the hotel hallway again.

“At least he didn’t remember about the door,” Lydia jokes.

***

Meet and Greets are probably Derek’s favorite part of conventions. He feels like he can really connect to his fans, can hear some of _their_ stories too, and he never actually knew how many intelligent questions fans have until he started doing meet and greets. And the one he’s currently in is pretty hilarious, if Derek is completely honest with himself. He recognized a few faces when he walked in, and Derek did catch himself looking for Stiles in the group, a weird relieved feeling in his stomach when he saw Stiles sitting not too far from him, surrounded by the same friends. It took a few minutes to get everyone to loosen up a bit, but now the atmosphere is fun and relaxed, and Stiles is actually _damn_ funny.

“But it is kind of weird going back to my hometown now and being recognized,” Derek says, completing the answer of a question a nice girl from Bulgaria has asked.

“You hardly ever come back there, though!” Stiles says, and there’s a teasing quality to his voice.

“How do you - ?” Derek starts, and then his eyes go wide, “Are you from Beacon Hills?”

“Born and raised,” Stiles says, then waving at his friends, “We all are.”

“No way!” Derek exclaims, and he’s actually feeling giddy about a connection to his hometown again. He’s been living in LA for so long now. “That is so great! Nothing beats living in Beacon Hills, right?”

“LA’s gotta be pretty amazing, though,” a redhead of the group says.

“It’s good, it’s fun,” Derek says, and he realizes he’s completely leaned towards this bunch of kids from his hometown, and he forces himself to sit back in his chair again, making sure he gives the entire room enough attention. “It’s especially handy for the job, I mean, all the good roles are out here. But sometimes I dream about the little things from back home, you know? Like Thea’s Bakery Shop! Is she still there?”

“God yes!” one of the girls calls out, “Best muffins in town!”

“Yes!” Derek agrees excitedly, “I used to go there _all_ the time! Oh God, I - ” He hesitates. He really shouldn’t tell this story, his agent is going to kill him for it.

 "What?” someone asks, and now they’re all staring at him - well, they always kind of are - and he just shakes his head and goes, “No, I really can’t say.”

“Oh, come on!” Stiles says, the biggest smile lighting up his entire face, “Don’t be such a tease!”

Everyone is laughing now.

“Okay, but this stays between us, alright?” Derek says, even though he’s well aware of how these things _always_ end up on the internet.

“What happens at a con, stays at a con, right?” someone jokes.

“Right,” Derek chuckles, “Well…” He leans forward, and the entire group subconsciously mimics him. “That bakery? I got caught stealing a muffin from there once.”

“Oh my God!” they call out, chuckling and shrieking and giggling excitedly.

“I was young and stupid,” Derek says, pointing around the room as he adds, “Don’t ever steal, guys! It’s not okay!”

“Says the guy who got arrested!” Stiles snorts.

“No, no!” Derek says, “I actually didn’t get arrested! This Deputy showed up, and… I was young, alright! Very young. And I think he took pity on me? I got off with a warning. And I never stole anything ever again!”

“Oh my God, imagine if it was Stiles’ dad!” one of the girls suddenly shrieks, and Stiles’ mouth just falls open, staring at her.

“Wait, wait, your dad’s a cop?” Derek asks Stiles.

“He’s the Sheriff now,” Stiles says, smiling somewhat shyly.

“No!” Derek calls out, completely flabbergasted, “You’re Sheriff Stilinski’s son!”

“You remember him?” Stiles says, shocked.

“Of course!” Derek says with a laugh, “Oh my God, I can’t believe you guys are from back home! And now you’re fans of the show? That’s so awesome!”

***

The convention is a whole lot of fun, of course, but the schedule is quite tight and nerve-wracking. Stiles knows that if he wants to get his fanart signed by Derek today, he has to grab them from his and Scott’s hotel room now, before the Cora panel, because he’ll have to go straight from there to the autograph room. Which is why he’s shoving the rolled up posters into his backpack as he’s running into the never-used staircase - there’s a queue at the elevators - his eyes on the stuff in his hands and… he runs straight into Derek Hale.

Literally.

His posters go flying everywhere, and he’s steadying himself with his hands on Derek’s chest as his mouth falls open because holy fuck. He bumped into Derek Hale. Derek Hale actually has his hands on Stiles’ biceps, probably to keep him from falling over, and seriously, how much more can Stiles embarrass himself?

“You seem to have a habit of walking into things, don’t you?” Derek smiles broadly as he finally lets go of Stiles.

Stiles huffs out a laugh. “Only when I’m really distracted.” He looks around at his fanart on the floor.

“So what were you distracted by in the autograph room?” Dereks asks, his lips tugging up a little smugly.

“As if you don’t know,” Stiles says, because there’s no way he could possibly feel even more embarrassed, right?

Derek doesn’t answer, instead his gaze falls on the posters surrounding them on the floor… Stiles’ fanart.

“Oh wow…” Derek breathes out, crouching down to pick up the papers, studying them carefully, fingers running over the painted faces. “Did you make these?”

“Uh, yeah…” Stiles says, and he can feel his face heating up again.

“These are amazing!” Derek says as he looks back up, his eyes wide and seemingly full of wonder.

“It’s…” Stiles shrugs, he doesn’t quite know how to react, “It’s nothing really. I just…”

“Oh, no, Stiles, these are incredible,” Derek says as he finally gets up, still admiring the art in his hands.

“You remember my name?” Stiles blurts out, stunned.

“Yeah, I - ” And now Derek is actually the one that’s looking a bit flushed, and it is without a doubt the cutest thing Stiles has ever seen. “I guess you’re memorable.”

Stiles’ breath gets stuck in his throat, and he’s sure his face is going as red as a tomato, and fuck… Derek is smiling at him but it’s not the smile he’s seen a million times. Not the smile that’s in every photo shoot, directed at every fan. No, it’s something different, something that feels private to Stiles, and he’s not entirely sure how he’s supposed to handle that smile.

“I am about 99% sure I have fallen asleep somewhere, you know, exhaustion because of the con, and I am dreaming up this entire conversation,” Stiles says, because if he ever had a filter to begin with, he sure as hell lost it when Derek called him memorable and started looking at him like that.

Derek just huffs out a laugh, the lines next to his eyes crinkling as he actually seems charmed by Stiles’ awkward flailing and fanboying.

“Maybe I should say that to you,” Derek eventually says, holding up Stiles’ posters, “I feel really honored to be the subject of these.”

“I was gonna get them signed,” Stiles says, ducking his head shyly.

“Do you want me to sign them now?” Derek asks, “Save you some money?”

“What would your P.A. have to say about you giving away the goods for free?” Stiles jokes, and before he can get even more embarrassed about his choice of words, Derek is already throwing his head back and laughing and Stiles is completely mesmerized by the long line of his neck.

“Lets not tell her about this, alright?” Derek winks at him.

“Where is she anyway? I mean, are you supposed to be walking around on your own?” Stiles asks, looking around like maybe she’s hiding somewhere. “You might get accosted by crazy fans, man.”

“I have a free hour, and honestly, I took off when she went to get me something,” Derek says, a sly grin on his face, “Sometimes I just need a moment for myself during these weekends.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, man,” Stiles’ face falls immediately, feeling like such an intruder right now, taking up Derek’s free time.

“No, no!” Derek says immediately, taking a step closer to Stiles as if to keep him from running off, “I didn’t mean it like that. I…” He smiles at Stiles. “Some people I don’t mind getting accosted by.”

“There’s that dream thing again,” Stiles says, a stupid smile on his face.

“Maybe we can go have a coffee or something, and make sure you’re wide awake again?” Derek asks, and he actually looks kind of _shy_ while asking, and it makes Stiles wonder if people can ever say no to Derek?

“Yeah, that would…” Stiles breathes out an amazed laugh, “That would be freaking awesome.”

“Oh,” Derek says, his face suddenly turning serious, and Stiles is sure that this is the moment where it all goes to hell because there’s no way he’s ever going to be as lucky as to go have coffee with Derek Freaking Hale. But Derek just says, “You’re gonna miss my sister’s panel though?”

Stiles lets out a sigh of relief, grinning ear to ear.

“I think I can live with that.”

***

“So how sick are you of airports?” Stiles asks, leaning back in his seat as Derek fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“Could be worse,” Derek shrugs, and he turns the camera on front view as he squishes his head next to Stiles’ to take a picture.

Stiles leans into him, the sides of their heads touching, Stiles looking dreamily into the camera. Derek takes a few pictures, then sneaks in a quick peck on Stiles’ lips as he presses down on the camera button one more time. When he pulls away, Stiles is looking at him in wonder, his cheeks spotted red again, and Derek doesn’t think he’ll get tired of that smile any time soon.

“You know,” Stiles says, cheekily despite his blush, “If I had known about this, I wouldn’t have wasted my money on a photo op.”

“Better quality,” Derek says, bumping his shoulder against Stiles’.

“Better photographer for sure,” Stiles teases, taking Derek’s phone out of his hands and snapping a picture of Derek with some planes behind the glass wall in the background.

Derek sighs dramatically, “Oh, where is the time you idolized everything I did…?”

Stiles’ response is to put his hand on Derek’s knee and squeeze. Derek leans back again in his seat, shoulder to shoulder with Stiles as he swipes his thumbs over the screen of his phone to pull up Instagram. He uses the picture Stiles just took, plays around a bit with the filters as he feels Stiles’ hand, warm and reassuring on his leg. He looks over at him, shares a smile, before typing out his caption and hitting ‘post’.

_‘Some conventions are extra special. Lost my heart at #Werecon.’_

 

 


End file.
